The Quidditch Calendar
by Turquoise Quill
Summary: The Gryffindor Quidditch team needs to raise some money for new school equipment and what better way to do it than make a calendar? How will Scorpius react to the whole school having access to his best ..espeically when he wants a little more than friendship?
1. Chapter 1

_I don't own these characters, they belong to the amazing JK Rowling. No copyright infringement intended! Hope you enjoy! :)  
_

* * *

Quidditch practice had just ended. The team, captained by none other than Albus Potter, was making their way back to the school.

"Oi, Al, remember what you had said about trying to raise money for new school broomsticks?" Zenneth, a beater on the team and Al's good friend and dorm-mate spoke up as the boys turned the corridor and walked towards their changeroom.

"Yeah, got an idea?" Al replied, absentmindedly holding the change room door open for his teammates.

All the boys in the change room were peeling their sweaty clothes off but listening now. A few weeks prior, the headmaster had approached the Quidditch Captains about trying to raise money for new broomsticks for the school. The flying instructor and first years had been complaining about the lack of proper equipment for a few years. Although Hogwarts could afford to buy new equipment, they could not afford to buy good quality new equipment. The Headmaster Bones had asked the captains to try and think of ways the Quidditch teams could help raise money to purchase high quality supplies.

When Albus had spoken to his team about it, everyone was excited. Glorifying Quidditch wasn't something they would pass up on, and ideas started flying immediately. Up until now however, no one had come up with a suitable or doable means of acquiring the money.

"I got this idea from my brother and I think it has a real shot. As you all know, I'm muggle-born and my brother isn't a wizard. Basically, his rugby team did this and they managed to raise enough money for new uniforms for the whole team. They made a calendar!"

Albus grinned at his friend; he could see potential in the idea. A lot of the other guys were looking confused, so Zenneth continued.

"Calendars are more common in the muggle world, I know, but I really think this could work! Every month has a different picture, right? So, we could make a Gryffindor House Team Calendar! And sell them in school. For every month, we could have a different team member, or a team pose. Maybe throw in an action shot or two?"

Zenneth's excitement was contagious. Most of the boys were nodding and mirroring Albus' grin as they thought of the poses they could be doing.

"I think it's a great idea Zen! This could be the one! Let's pitch it to the girls in the common room and see what they think, yeah?" Albus said, thumping his friend on the back.

The boys finished ridding themselves of their practice gear and were chatting excitedly about what poses they could do.

...

After talking briefly with the girls, who immediately were on board with the idea, Albus and Zenneth retired to their dorm room quite happily, still talking about the calendar.

"I'll ask Bones if the idea is alright tomorrow at breakfast. And if it is, then we can go right ahead!" Albus said, pushing the door to their room open.

"This could be so cool Al, plus since the pictures move in the Wizarding world it'll be so much better than my brother's!"

They had entered their dorm room and saw that Parker and Max were on their respective beds and Scorpius' bed was empty. Max was reading and Parker was writing on some parchment, textbooks strewn all over his bead. Both boys looked up when they heard the door.

"How'd practice go?" Max asked, greeting them both with a smile.

Albus and Zenneth quickly filled their friends in on the calendar plan.

"That's going to sell really well, I reckon." Parker said "Have you worked out the poses?"

"Nah, we're going to work on that after practice tomorrow, if Bones is okay with the idea." Al said, flopping onto his bed and picking up his potions textbook.

"I don't see why she wouldn't be, that's brilliant" Max said, "As long as Al takes his shirt off for one of the months, the sales will be amazing"

The boys burst out laughing and Albus blushed slightly and threw his pillow at Max in retaliation.

"Hey, uh, where's Scorpius? I want to tell him about the idea" Albus said, hoping to change the subject. He hadn't seen Scorpius in the common room, and knew he wouldn't be at the library.

"With Renzo, I think. It's his birthday or something so they're going to celebrate" Max said casually.

"Oh, okay. Know when he'll get back in?" Albus felt his heart sink. He didn't like that his best friend was with Lorenzo. He hated the guy's guts, mostly because he was with Scorpius, but once he saw him drop a bit of ink on the ground of the potions classroom and not bother to clean it up.

"Well, considering it's his birthday and stuff, I reckon it wouldn't be until quite late" Parker said, looking up at Albus with questioning eyes.

Only Zenneth knew about Albus' crush on his best friend and after seeing Albus looking so uncomfortable, he quickly changed the subject. The boys talked a little longer then each of them went about their business. Albus was periodically checking the door all the way until the lights were out, and even then, he was listening for Scorpius to come back. He tried to focus on the Quidditch Calendar, and how much fun he was going to have making it with the team, but his thoughts kept drifting back to Scorpius. He fell asleep uneasily, tossing and turning.

…

"Al. Albus? Can I open the curtains?"

It was Scorpius' voice. Al could hear it from somewhere far off, but he knew something was very wrong. He opened his eyes slowly, then realizing the voice was coming from just outside his bed curtains, he tossed them open, suddenly wide awake.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" Albus was sitting up in bed and trying to see Scorpius, though the moonlight wasn't giving him much detail.

"Uh. No. I'm not, not so much…"

"What happened?" Albus muttered _lumos_, then _muffliato_, "Here, sit on my bed." He moved over to make room for Scorpius. It was a much tighter fit now than it had been when they were 11, but they made it work. Albus flicked his wand and the curtains closed. He turned his attention to Scorpius, who was sitting beside him, looking downcast.

"Okay, tell me what happened. Why did you get in so late?"

"I was with Renzo" Scorpius whispered "We were going to," Scorpius swallowed, "we had big plans for tonight. It's his birthday, you know? And I was going to give him my vir…"

"Oh! Oh. Okay, I understand. Continue" Albus clenched his fists. He didn't know why, but the thought of Scorpius in bed with some guy who didn't deserve him set him on edge. He just felt that Scorpius could do so much better. That and Lorenzo was an ink-spiller, the prat, no regard for the house-elves whatsoever.

"I know you don't like him, but I thought you were wrong, you know? I thought…well, I thought I knew him."

Albus' mind was racing. _He hurt Scorpius, he didn't love him like he was supposed to. He…_

"I was going down to the dungeons, to Slytherin. Anyway, on my way down there I bumped into him. And he was making out with Kieran."

"What!? With Kieran? He…"

"Yeah, he cheated on me. And he saw me and all he said was 'Sorry mate, I was going to tell you tonight, you know?' and then," Scorpius choked a little here and Albus could see that he was crying. Tears were rolling down his cheeks, "…then he took Kieran's hand and led him down the corridor. At least Kieran had the decency to look ashamed." Scorpius wiped his eyes furtively.

"That dick. That fucking bastard. I'm gonna kill him Scor, I will. I'll destroy…"Socprius put his hand on Albus' arm, as if to make him stop. Albus quieted down but was worked up. A very small part of him was rejoicing at the fact that Scorpius didn't give himself fully to Lorenzo, but most of him was focusing on how he could kill Lorenzo and make it look like a mistake.

"It hurts so bad Al. It really does" Scorpius leaned into Albus, who quickly put an arm around him.

"I'm so sorry Scorpius" he murmured against Scorpius' hair.

"I thought…I didn't…I thought that we were okay, that things were going well. I mean, we were going to…just…fuck." Scorpius' voice broke and he was sobbing now, softly.

Albus just held him, wrapping both arms around his friend, and let him cry. Albus wasn't really quite sure what the protocol was for best friends comforting their best friends about a guy. All Albus knew was that he didn't want to see Scorpius hurt, and if that meant staying up all night and holding him until he stopped crying, then so be it.

He didn't know how long they stayed like that. But Scorpius' sobs were turning into sniffles and his breathing evened out after some time.

"Hey Al?" he whispered, his voice thick.

"Yeah Scor?"

"Should I go back to my bed now?"

"Nah Scor, sleep here. It's okay."

"But the guys…"

"I'll take care of it, okay?"

"Al?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"You don't need to thank me for doing something I'd do in a heartbeat Scorpius. Now please, get some sleep? You need some rest, okay?"

"Yeah, okay Al."

"Night."

"Night."


	2. Chapter 2

Scorpius woke up and for a blissful second didn't remember what had happened the previous night. But then it all came crashing down on him, like someone had poured a bucket of ice-cold water down his back. He shivered as he took in his surroundings; his bed curtains were open, the guys had all left the dorm room…and he was in Albus' bed.

Scorpius' mind reeled. _Shit! They're going to know I wasn't with Renzo, they're going to know that I slept in Albus' bed. Damnit Al, how could you have left the curtains open!_

He sat up in alarm and felt something slip off of him. He felt his panic ebbing away; he smiled wryly at the invisibility cloak, now only covering his lower half. Albus really did take care of everything.

He slowly made his way down to breakfast, trying to avoid everyone. Of course, as soon as he walked into the Great Hall, he had to start saying good morning. There were less people than normal because he was unusually late, but still too many for his liking. His eyes searched frantically for Albus' mop of hair, and finally spotted him at the Head Table talking to Professor Bones. He gingerly skirted around the Slytherin table and sank onto a bench where Max was finishing up his breakfast.

"Morning Scor, have a good night?" he asked coyly, grinning at Scorpius.

Scorpius winced; he hadn't planned on having to talk about Lorenzo this early "Uh. I...we broke up. He cheated on me."

Max's mouth dropped open, the smile gone from his face, "Wow, I'm so sorry mate. That bastard!"

"Yeah. He is." Scorpius said shortly, picking up a piece of toast and spreading jelly onto it.

"You want to talk about it?" Max asked tentatively

"Not really, thanks though Max." Scorpius was sure that in due time, he'd tell all his dorm-mates what had happened; he trusted them all. But he was still hurting and didn't want to relive it any sooner than he had to.

They sat in silence. Max started to pack up his things after taking a final swig of his pumpkin juice.

"Hey Max?"

Max stopped packing and looked up.

"What's Al doing with Professor Bones?"

"Oh! You weren't in the room last night so you didn't hear. You know how the teams have to raise money for new brooms? Zen had the idea of making a calendar. You know those Muggle date things?" He paused and continued after Scorpius nodded, "So, they're going to put team pictures on theirs, and then sell them. I told Al to take a shirtless one and it'll sell great!" Max laughed and threw his bag over his shoulder, "Al's running the idea by Bones right now, if she says yes they're going to start shooting in the next few days."

"Oh, that's neat" Scorpius said, watching the head table as Albus and Bones shared a laugh, "Thanks for filling me in."

"Not a problem." Max started to leave, "Hey, buck up mate, you deserve better"

Scorpius offered him a weak smile and waved a goodbye.

Albus walked back to the table just as Scorpius was finishing his toast.

"Scor! I didn't realize you'd come down for breakfast, I was going to bring some back to our dorm for you." He slid onto the bench beside Scorpius and grabbed a biscuit.

"Oh, well, I…" Scorpius wanted to say that he didn't want to be alone, but he couldn't bring himself to. He just needed to be with Albus for a while, and forget about Lorenzo.

"Sorry about that mate, I had to talk to Bones. Zen had this brilliant idea!"

"Yeah, the Calendar right? Max just filled me in before he left. It sounds really great." Scorpius said, with as much enthusiasm as he could muster.

Albus smiled, "Yeah, and Bones approved it! She just said that we need to run the pictures by her before putting them together so she can check that they're appropriate." He laughed and picked up another biscuit.

Scorpius couldn't help but smile back at his friend's grinning face, "I heard they want you to go shirtless, you reckon you're going to do it?"

Albus went slightly pink which made Scorpius' smile stretch a little wider, "Um, I might. I guess." He mumbled, concentrating very hard on his glass.

Scorpius managed to laugh but felt a pang of jealousy. Albus was in no way his to be possessive of, but he still didn't want the entire school to have access to a shirtless Albus whenever they wanted!

"Scor?"

"Hm, what?"

"I asked what you were planning to do in our spare…"

"Oh, I was going to mope about the common room." Scorpius said sheepishly, "Care to join me?"

"I've got a better idea." Albus proposed, "How about we go outside? The weather is great and if Lorenzo catches us, he'll know that you've moved on to bigger and better things" Albus winked at Scorpius and then before Scorpius could say a word, grabbed both their bags and started walking out of the Great Hall.

Scorpius ran after him, laughing. He didn't think he'd be smiling, let alone laughing for days, but Albus always knew what to do to cheer him up. Now he just had to figure out if Albus was joking or if he really was flirting with him.

…

A while later, Scorpius and Albus were lying outside, under a (regular) willow tree. They had spent almost all period talking about Lorenzo. Scorpius finally opened up and told Albus all the details he had been keeping private for so long. About their dates, their time alone, how awkward he felt getting head for the first time, how we wished he could have faked an orgasm just to get it over with... It wasn't like he didn't want to tell Albus before; there just wasn't a good time. He was either with Lorenzo himself, or with his Gryffindor friends. But his alone time with Albus had been limited when he was in that relationship. It was fun to finally get the chance to hang out and talk.

Albus couldn't help but clench his jaw as Scorpius retold some of his more intimate tales, but he was happy that Scorpius didn't give Lorenzo everything, and he was really happy that Lorenzo gave terrible head. It just made him want to smile for some reason; he reckoned he could do a much better job.

"Hey Scorpius?" he said, propping himself up on an elbow so he could see his friend's face "I'm glad you're not with him anymore. I mean, I hate how it ended, I hate that it hurt you so bad, but I don't think…well, I don't really think he ever deserved you." Albus felt like he had said too much and let himself lie down again, hoping Scorpius wouldn't notice the pink that was creeping into his cheeks.

"Thanks Al" Scorpius whispered, he turned his head to face Albus, "And, uh, thanks for last night. I... I really appreciated that."

"Don't mention it." Albus turned again to look at Scorpius and noticed that their faces were mere inches apart. He would have given anything to close that distance, but he knew that he couldn't. Not without Scorpius thinking he was taking advantage of his vulnerability. He sat up quickly, "We should get back, we have Potions in ten minutes and it'll take us a while to walk there."


	3. Chapter 3

Albus walked onto the Quidditch Pitch feeling happier than he had in days. He had gotten a chance, after a long while, to talk – to properly sit down and talk- to his best friend. And even though he hated that Scorpius was hurt, he couldn't have been happier that he was single again.

His mood translated to his team, who all flew wonderfully. It was the most fun at practice that he had had in a very long while. When they had finished their last drills, and Albus was satisfied with the execution of a technique that he and the other two chasers had been trying, he called a meeting. The team settled down on the pitch, all smiling and laughing; waiting for Albus to speak.

"So, I talked to Bones today and," he grinned broadly, "we're good to go!"

The team cheered and started chattering excitedly; Albus managed to quiet them down.

"This means that we can start taking pictures as soon as we get the poses lined up" he continued, "Why don't we all think about it and then next practice we can try and put them together?"

There was general agreement to this, but then Rose Weasley, the second team beater (Zenneth was the other), spoke up, "Al, since you told us about the idea last night, a lot of us have already come up with a few ideas. Why don't we throw some around now? While the whole team is together?"

At the smiles and murmurs which broke out after Rose's suggestion, Albus agreed.

"Okay, so we need thirteen pictures; one for the cover, and then one for every month of the year" he said, "any ideas, dear cousin?" he teased Rose.

She smiled "Actually, the girls and I worked it out last night. Here's what we propose;" she looked around at the boys as the two other girls on the team giggled, "There should be a team photo on the cover, the Gryffindor Crest and the year of the calendar"

No one disputed her idea, or suggested a new one. There were nods from the rest of the team.

Blake, a talented third year who was their Seeker picked up from where Rose left off, "Then we thought that since there's seven of us, each of us could get a month. We should all be in uniform, and it would be brilliant if we could get some of our stats printed on the picture; sort of like we were professional players!"

More agreement followed her words so Martha, a sixth year chaser and the last girl on the team continued, "That leaves five more pictures. Since there are four different positions, we thought they could each get a month; a month of beaters, chasers, the seeker and the keeper. These would be strictly action shots. That leaves one picture, we couldn't really figure out what to slip in there."

Zenneth quickly spoke up; cutting off whatever Albus had opened his mouth to say "Well, in the dorms, our mate suggested that Al goes shirtless for a picture. I mean, he is the captain, and I firmly believe that it would really help sales if we could say that the middle Potter is half-naked in our calendar."

The teams roared with laughter, a chorus of Yeses, Do it Als and general cheering filled the empty pitch. Albus went scarlet and punched Zenneth in the arm playfully.

"I'll think about it! Think only! I'm not agreeing to anything yet" he laughed

The team headed inside soon after, with promises to think of their respective poses. Albus was deep in thought about the calendar when his fellow chaser, Kevin caught up with him on his way back to the dorm.

"Hey Al!"

"Oh, hey Kevin. Great flying today. I think Martha, you and I are going to be able to nail that formation in our next game!" he said enthusiastically

Kevin smiled broadly "Yeah, I reckon we'll be unstoppable! But, uh, I had a question for you. I mean, I know we're going to take pictures in a practice or two, but I was wondering who's going to take the them?"

Albus' smile evaporated, he hadn't even thought of that detail. He voiced this to Kevin, who smiled apologetically, "I know I don't say much, I probably should have brought it up at the meeting. Maybe you and Zen could ask around the seventh years if anyone could do it for us? Preferably from our house of course?"

"Yeah, thanks for reminding me mate. I'll look into that tonight!"

…

Albus found that most of his dorm mates were studying in the common room when he walked into Gryffindor. Zenneth had beaten him upstairs and was sitting at a table with Max and Scorpius. Parker was talking to his girlfriend on one of the couches.

"Heya" Albus said, settling down on an empty seat beside Scorpius. He nudged him discreetly and saw Scropius smile out of the corner of his eye.

"Hey Al, Zen was just filling us in. Bones approved the calendar!" Max said, reaching over to give Albus a congratulatory thump on the back.

"Thanks Max! We only have one minor problem now"

"What is it?" Zenneth said worriedly.

"We don't have a photographer. It completely slipped my mind!"

Silence fell over the four boys, all of whom were looking downcast and thinking hard.

"I could do it" Scorpius said quietly, "I know how to work a muggle camera."

Albus laughed "Yeah, good one Scor, but seriously, we need to find someone who'll take the pictures"

"No, I really can! My Aunt Daphne married a muggle, and he loves photography. Last Christmas they gave me a really good camera. I could just ask my Dad to send it here and I could take the pictures." Scopius explained, looking around at Albus and Zenneth.

"That sounds brilliant mate!" Zenneth cried, a grin returning to his face.

"Yeah, that _is_ brilliant" Albus said, he was still surprised. He had no idea that Scorpius could work a muggle camera, let alone that he owned one, "That settles it then. You can take our pictures for us."

They fell into an easy silence after that, each concentrating on their own work. Albus was preoccupied however, wondering what else he didn't know about his best friend. He shook his head and pulled out a piece of spare parchment and jotted down the poses for the Calendar to distract himself. By the time people started to head back to the dorm rooms, Albus had finished half of his History of Magic essay, and his list.

_Quidditch Calendar:_

_Cover – Team photo_

_January – Blake_

_February - Craig_

_March - Rose _

_April - Zenneth _

_May - Kevin_

_June - Martha_

_July – Albus_

_August - Seeker: Blake_

_September – Keeper: Craig_

_October – Chasers: Albus, Martha, Kevin_

_November - Beaters: Zenneth, Rose_

_December – Shirtless Albus?_

…

It was well past midnight, but Albus was still lying awake. Everything was quiet and dark, and he didn't know why he was still wondering about Scorpius. It was like he took it as a personal insult that he hadn't known about his friend's photography. He knew that he was being stupid, but he couldn't help it. Why hadn't Scorpius told him? Was it because he was just preoccupied with Lorenzo? Did he think Albus would laugh? Albus tried to push it to the back of his mind. Just as he started to fall asleep, he heard his name

"Al? Al, it's me." Scorpius whispered.

Albus sat up and pulled the curtains open. Scorpius was crouching down beside his bed, casting his eyes around the room, looking like he didn't want to be caught.

"What's wrong?" Albus whispered, looking concerned and trying to see if Scorpius was crying like the previous night.

"I just, I don't… Can I sleep in your bed?" Scorpius grimaced, knowing he sounded pathetic.

"What?" Albus said dazedly, "What? In…with me?"

"Al, wake up will you!" Scorpius hissed a little louder, "Please just let me?"

"What? Oh! Oh. Yeah." Albus slid over and Scorpius climbed into his bed, closing the curtains quickly behind him with a flick of his wand.

"Scor, is something wrong?" Albus asked once Scorpius had settled beside him.

"I, um, I didn't want to be alone, if that's okay. I know two nights in a row is a lot to ask of you. It's just that, you make me feel better about everything and..."

"It's okay Scor" Albus murmured soothingly, "It's okay, just feel better alright?"

Scorpius sighed in relief, "Thanks again Al"

"Night" Albus whispered, turning over and smiling to himself

"Night"


	4. Chapter 4

Scorpius woke up and sighed. He felt happy, warm and comfortable. He was snuggled in Albus' sheets, which smelled comfortingly of his best friend and Albus had his strong arms wrapped around him. Scorpius went rigid as soon as that realization dawned on him. He and Albus were cuddled together. Spooning. In Albus' bed. He wanted to lie like that forever, but he knew that Albus would be mortified beyond belief if he realized what he was doing.

Scorpius squirmed slightly, trying to see if he would be able to wiggle out of Albus' arms. Albus shifted in his sleep, pulling Scorpius flush against his body. Scorpius froze. He felt something hard against his arse and blushed a deep shade of red. Albus, still sleeping, let out a soft moan and gently rocked his hips forward; slowing grinding his boner against Scorpius. Scorpius was now at war with himself internally. No sooner had he decided to get out of Al's arms when his own penis started to misbehave. On one hand, he just wanted to reach back and help Albus with the morning greeting in his pants, but the saner half of him knew that he couldn't possibly do that without risking their entire friendship.

So he waited until Albus had settled and wiggled a little again. His body was siding with the half of his brain that wanted to get into Albus pants. This would not do. He could not be caught in Albus bed, both of them sporting boners and cuddling. He gently removed Albus' arms from around him. Albus sighed and turned his back to Scorpius, who let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He slipped gingerly from Albus' bed once he saw that the coast was clear.

…

The week that followed was a very busy one. Everyone seemed to have a job to do and they were all keen on getting them done. Scorpius had written to his parents and by the end of the week, his camera had arrived. The Gryffindor team had finally persuaded Albus to let December be his shirtless-picture month. Rose and Albus had sent an owl to their Uncle George and with his help managed to sort out of the details of how their calendar was going to get printed. Their Uncle had a few connections with some people who also had businesses in Diagon Alley. He put them in touch with one of his friends who happened to be a Hogwarts alumnus; he liked their cause so much that they had gotten a fantastic discount on printing their calendars. Everything was set to go.

Finally the day of the photo shoot arrived. Scorpius followed the team down to the Quidditch pitch one afternoon. He had insisted that the team wore their game robes and on taking the pictures in the daytime because the lighting was best.

"Okay everyone" Albus clapped as his team made their way outside, gathering around him and Scorpius, "This is my mate Scorpius for those of you don't know, and he'll be taking pictures for us today" he turned to Scorpius and smiled, "Take it away Scor!"

"Um." Scorpius said, nervously scanning the team that had assembled in front of him, "Alright, I reckon that we should start with the solo pictures for January through to July. That way the rest of you could practice while I take pictures of the person featured that month?"

Albus seemed to like this idea; any spare time his team could practice, he jumped at.

As they took off Scorpius called after them "Mind you don't dirty your Quidditch robes!"

Blake, who hadn't taken to the air with the team, snorted "I highly doubt Al's will stay clean, he always managed to get it dirty during games"

Scorpius smiled at her. She was a pretty girl, a little younger than him and quite a good flyer from what he had seen. He pulled out the piece of parchment that Albus had given to him before they left their dorm and glanced down at it quickly, "You're up first then? Blake, is it?"

"Yeah, I'm Blake." She couldn't wipe the grin off her face; Albus' friend was really cute!

"And you're the seeker right?"

She nodded, watching at Scorpius' eyebrows knit together as he concentrated.

"Hmm. Maybe you should stand here," he gestured to a patch of grass, "I'll kneel down to take the picture so we'll only be able to see sky behind you" Scorpius walked up to Blake and fixed a couple of stray hairs before stepping back and starting to take photos.

Blake had a great time posing for the pictures and before she knew it, her turn was done. She bid a quick farewell to Scorpius and flew up to Craig to let him know it was his turn before joining the team in their warm-ups.

The solo shots all went very smoothly. Scorpius was starting to really get into it; trying to frame pictures as best he good, position players to subtly imply what position they played and keep everything as professional as possible. Soon, it was Albus that landed on the grass near him.

"Hey" he beamed at Scorpius, slightly out of breath from the drill he had been doing with his team.

"Hey yourself" Scorpius said shyly.

Scorpius realized that he never saw Albus this close when he was playing Quidditch; he only ever met him before and after games.

Seeing Albus panting in his Quidditch robes that fit him so wonderfully well, made Scorpius feel very warm despite the cool breeze that swept through the pitch. He kept on remembering their last night together. He hadn't slept in Albus' bed since, but fondly remembered waking up and feeling Albus' warm and hard body pressed against him…

"Has the team been behaving?" Albus said, adjusting his gloves and snapping Scorpius out of his reverie.

"Of course, I figured you would be the most troublesome anyway" Scorpius winked. He knew he was flirting with Albus, but it felt so natural to him.

"Troublesome eh? Alright then, photographer Malfoy. Let's get this photo-shoot going shall we?" Albus walked up to Scorpius, a mischievous smile playing on his lips, until their faces were very close together, "I'll show you troublesome" Albus said, his voice low and his eyes never leaving Scorpius'.

It was designed to be a feigned threat, but it turned Scorpius on much more than he would ever admit. He shivered slightly, the warmth he had felt moments ago had been replaced by goose bumps caused by sudden chill.

He didn't back down however, "Yeah, let's get this shoot going"

Albus, staying true to his word, messed up countless photos by moving around, pretending to scratch an itch, falling on the ground pretending that he had been stunned, and making ridiculous faces at Scorpius. It took Scorpius twenty minutes just to take a few decent pictures of his best friend, but he had a great time doing it. Albus made him laugh so hard he needed to stop shooting because his hands were shaking terribly and all his pictures were coming out blurry.

Finally, having finished with the solo pictures; Albus called the team together. They landed on the grass, grinning at one another. Zenneth shot Albus a knowing smile which he pointedly ignored.

"Alright, it's time to take the action shots. Blake, you'll be up first."

Blake nodded and was about to take to the air when Scorpius spoke up.

"Wait! How am I supposed to take the pictures? I don't have a good enough zoom on my camera."

"Take my broom Scor" Albus said, holding his broom out to Scorpius.

"No, I can't." Everyone turned to look at him "No, I mean, I can fly! I just can't operate a camera and fly at the same time!"

Rose laughed "Why don't you get on a broom _with_ someone then? You can work the camera and they'll do the flying"

"Yeah, you can get on with me!" Blake said quickly, looking hopeful.

"Blake, he's supposed to be taking pictures of you!" cried Martha, giggling.

Zenneth spoke up quickly, "Why don't you get on with Albus? At least until it's time to take pictures of the chasers? He's our best flyer mate; you'll be in good hands"

"Yeah, that'd work" Scorpius tried to look as nonchalant as he could while accepting the offer, but his insides were turning to jelly.

"Well then Scor, looks like you'll be going for a ride on my broomstick!" Albus said, grinned wickedly at him.


	5. Chapter 5

Scorpius turned red as the team tittered. He walked up to Albus, "You better not let me fall" he said, half-jokingly.

"I'll try my best" Albus said, sliding forward on his broom so that Scorpius had room behind him.

"Will you hold the camera for a second Zen?" Scorpius said, handing his camera over so that he could position himself on the broom properly.

Scorpius straddled the broomstick, feeling very awkward. The fact that six other people were watching wasn't making it any better.

"I'm going to hover for a little bit so that you can get your balance okay? Hold onto me" Albus muttered, turning his head.

"Okay" Scorpius said, tentatively wrapping his arms around Albus' waist.

He felt his feet leave the ground and he wobbled for a moment before steadying himself against Albus' back. He took the camera back from Zenneth and soon the second phase of the photo shoot was underway.

Albus expertly maneuvered the broom, being careful not to fly too fancily in fear that Scorpius might slide off the end. He rushed through the air, parallel to Blake who was pursuing the snitch. Scorpius was immensely enjoying the ride, one hand was holding tightly to one of Albus' hips and the other held the camera. Using Albus' shoulder as a sort of improvised tripod, Scorpius was clicking away, relishing the feeling of being in the air and being pressed so close to Albus. It was very difficult to concentrate because his face was practically resting on Albus' shoulder, ensuring that he breathed in the familiar and potent scent that he was sure would be in Amortentia if he ever came across some.

When they had taken enough pictures of Blake, Albus told her that she could head inside. The practice had been extra-long and he understood that his team had assignments that they ought to be completing as the end of the year approached. She grinned at the two boys on the broom, and soon Craig, their keeper was up in the air. Kevin and Martha, two of the chasers also took to the air as well. They shot at the hoops and Craig made saves while Albus wove into the action so that Scorpius could take his pictures.

The beaters were next, Zenneth and Rose flew together flawlessly, doing a few tricks and beating the bludgers in perfect harmony, flying as partners and having a blast. Scorpius very much enjoyed seeing them fly up close as well as take their pictures.

Then it was only the chasers that were left. Albus had requested that Zenneth stay outside, so that Scorpius could ride with him. Everyone else had gone back into the school. Flying with Zenneth was not nearly as fun as with Albus, though Scorpius appreciated that Albus had paired him up with the person he was the most comfortable with after Albus.

Albus, Kevin and Martha flew impeccably. They even demonstrated a few new formations they had been working on. They worked as a unit on the pitch, the Quaffle flying between almost as if it had its own predetermined path. Scorpius, although saddened that he wasn't with Albus, was awed seeing them play. Zenneth had done a good job keeping his friend safe and getting close enough to the action so that Scorpius could to get great pictures. After about fifteen minutes with the chasers, all the pictures were taken.

The remaining team members landed on the grass, the sun was starting to set and although they looked excited, it was evident that they were all tired.

"Alright, head in you lot. You did a great job today. Fantastic practice" Albus said, thumping each on the back as they bid him farewell and walked into the school.

He made to follow them but Scorpius grabbed his arm, "Wait, Al, what about your December picture?"

"Oh damn. I sent Zen into the school, you won't be able to ride with him." he said, not meeting Scorpius' eyes.

"We can take it on the ground if you'd like?" Scorpius silently prayed that he didn't sound like he _wanted_ to take Albus' shirtless pictures alone, without anyone else there to intrude. He hastily added, "That way I can get all the pictures printed soon and we can start choosing which ones we want to put into the calendar".

Albus' mouth stretched into a slow smile, "That's not a bad idea mate, let's do it"

Scorpius was about to explain a few poses that he had in mind but before any words came out of his mouth Albus had dropped his broom on the ground, and had started peeling off his Quidditch robes. Scorpius' jaw dropped noticeably as his best friend's naked upper-half came into view. Albus was now just in his chaser gloves and some Quidditch trousers. And he looked fantastic.

It wasn't like Scorpius hadn't seen it all before, they shared a dorm room for Merlin's sake. But it being acceptable to do more than glance was a liberty that he wasn't used to allowing himself. Albus' Quidditch practices, training sessions, and the Muggle workouts he insisted on doing despite the teasing all paid off. Albus was tan, well-defined and sexy as hell. Scorpius attentively watched the muscles under plains of tan skin move as Albus picked up his broom.

Albus tried in vain to pat his hair down before looking at Scorpius. He couldn't help but grin at the face his friend was making, "You reckon this is enough? Or would you like me to take anything else off?"

Scorpius made a funny sound at the back of his throat to which Albus cocked an eyebrow. He cleared his throat, embarrassed, and said quickly "No, no, that's fine. Just uh, move over here."

Albus smiled and followed his friend into the middle of the pitch where Scorpius, trying his absolute best to concentrate on the job he had to do, started to explain a pose to him.

"I think it would really appeal if you took your broom and held it behind your head, kind of like this" Scorpius took Albus' broom and laid it horizontally across his shoulders, hooking his arms onto the two ends.

Albus nodded and took the broom back from Scorpius, imitating the position. Scorpius stepped back and started clicking away. Soon he forgot about the fact that his best friend was posing partly naked in front of him and just concentrated on snapping pictures that would show everyone how amazing Albus was.

Albus improvised a few poses; leaning on his propped up broom, holding his broom like a staff, just laughing (although that was spontaneous because Scorpius made him laugh) then suggested that he fly low to the ground, and pass in front of Scorpius for a few in-air shots.

Albus had noticed that Scorpius, true to his nature, had started to take his task very seriously and was starting to forget to have fun. He was giving Albus appreciated direction, but wasn't smiling like he had been before. In an effort to lighten the mood, Albus started pulling faces at his friend.

"Al! You ruined that shot again! And it was such a good one!" Scorpius cried, although he was laughing now.

Albus was then struck with fantastic idea. He smiled slyly and started moving his hands over his broom handle. Up and down, twisting and massaging the polished wood. Scorpius stared for a moment before realizing that Albus was pretending to masturbate; and Scorpius was starting to wish that he could witness the real thing...or feel Albus' practiced hands on himself. He suddenly felt very hot in his school robes, but he was thankful that they covered his crotch.

"Al" Scorpius chocked on his words, he hadn't noticed that his mouth had gone dry, "Al, we should, um, get back to, uh. Pictures." He gestured vaguely at his camera; his eyes still transfixed on Albus' now still hands.

"Sorry Scor, one could say I'm a little troublesome" Albus said smoothly, smirking at Scorpius who had turned so red and looked so flustered Albus just wanted to kiss him.

Craving that look of shock mingled with want that had crossed Scorpius' face when he had taken his robes off then again as he played with his broom handle, he flew very close to him. As he neared, close enough to touch Scorpius, he looked down at him from his broom at grinned as wickedly as he could.

Scorpius, not knowing how else to protect himself against the intoxicating boy that was nearing him, raised his camera and managed to catch the wink that Albus sent him.


	6. Chapter 6

Breakfast was proceeding as it usually did when the owls flew into the Great Hall. It had been a week since the photo shoot and after taking the group picture of the team at their game against Ravenclaw (which they won) Scorpius had sent his pictures off to Diagon Alley to be printed. Today, Scorpius' screech owl Saber flew into the hall with a small package tied to his foot. He dropped on to Scorpius plate, which was thankfully empty.

"Scorpius, are those the pictures?" Parker asked, peering at the box.

"I reckon they might be!" Scorpius replied, hurriedly untying the small box and peeling the paper off after giving Saber a biscuit.

Upon hearing his revelation, the rest of his roommates looked on interestedly; especially Albus who leaned purposefully close to Scorpius, allowing their shoulders to touch.

The pictures were soon getting pulled out of the box and passed from boy to boy.

"Hey, are those the pictures of the team?" Rose called from down the table

"Yeah! Come see!" said Albus.

Soon the entire Quidditch team was passing the pictures around, laughing and talking excitedly. Their calendar was really coming together.

"So, what's the next step then?" Kevin asked

"Well, these are _all_ of the pictures I took. We need to narrow them down to the thirteen that are going to make it into the Calendar." Scorpius replied

He had been taking the pictures out of the box, looking at them and then passing them on. He had come to the end of the pile and picked up the first of Albus' pictures. He couldn't help the heat that rose to his cheeks as the pictures of his crush laughing and posing grinned up at him.

As he passed them around he heard the collective appreciation of Albus' body and snuck a glace over at his best friend.

Albus was blushing furiously, feeling very exposed at the fact that his friends and his teammates were openly ogling his body.

Scorpius had finally gotten to the last picture, it was the one in which Albus was winking at him. He was about to pass it on when he felt an odd bubble of jealousy. He didn't want to share this private moment between them with everyone. Then he realized that people would probably really like to see that picture because they would feel as special as he did when Albus winked at _them_ through the picture. He sighed and passed the picture to Parker.

By the time it had circled the whole team, there was no contest; everyone thought that it was the picture of Albus that needed to go into the Calendar.

…

The first time Scorpius saw the completed Calendar he was pleased. Albus' uncle's friend had done a fantastic job; not only did the calendar look professional, the picture and paper quality rivaled some of the most expensive and ornate calendars Scorpius had ever seen. He was completely impressed.

The Gryffindor Quidditch team was floored with the results. They loved the calendars and before long, Albus had devised a plan to sell them. Word of mouth worked best, he said, but he also given each team member a calendar and told them to feel free to show them to friends from different houses and spread the news and their team was selling the calendars to raise money for new brooms. He planned to do the actual selling, where they collected money and handed out calendars, at meal times in the Great Hall.

Bones had approved his plans, and the team launched their Calendars. News spread like fiendfyre, and soon the entire school was buzzing about the Calendar. Scorpius heard a lot of talk about the picture of Albus and tried and failed to curb his possessiveness. He couldn't help it though; flocks of students, from every house were thronging around the Gryffindor table meal times, easily passing galleons to team members in exchange for calendars.

After seeing the umpteenth calendar being hastily opened to the back page at lunch on Day Two of sales, Scorpius moved outside to the lake along with Parker and Max to finish eating.

Albus watched him leave and sighed. He really wanted to make a move with Scorpius, possibly invite him to the last Hogsmeade weekend of the year. But the calendar sales and piles of assignments had kept him from getting a proper conversation in with his best friend. He was therefore utterly surprised when an unwelcome guest snapped him back to the present.

"Hey Albus" Lorenzo drawled smoothly, smiling.

"What do you want?" Albus replied without preamble.

"I thought you'd be a little nicer to a potential customer mate" Lorenzo's smile didn't falter.

"Fine, buy the calendar then get away from my table." Albus' eyes remained steel; he couldn't bear to act civilly to the boy that had caused his Scorpius to sob his heart out just last month.

Lorenzo dawdled with his money before handing over the appropriate amount. Albus hastily handed him a calendar, hoping that he'd leave. Lorenzo, however, had other ideas.

Opening to December he whistled, "Are you single Albus?"

"What does it matter to you?" Albus said; he couldn't keep his cool now. He could feel his blood beginning to boil.

Zenneth, who had been sitting beside him and also doing Calendar sales looked up and quickly stood.

"Don't get like that Al!" Lorenzo tried smiling, though he looked nervous now, "I was just wondering if you'd like to go to Hogsmeade this weekend with me?"

Albus saw red. He couldn't believe the guy's audacity.

"You're fucking kidding me right? This is a joke right?" Albus' voice rose and he soon had the attention of more than half of the Great Hall.

Lorenzo started backing away but Albus stood up, Zenneth quickly got between the two boys.

"You had Scorpius. You had the best thing you'll ever get the chance to have in your life and you screwed that up. You hurt him. You _hurt _Scorpius. I think he might have loved you, you know that? And you stamped on his heart after tearing it in half. And now you think," Albus took a deep breath trying to calm himself down, "and now you think you've got a chance with me?"

Lorenzo looked like he was either going to run away or try and punch Albus to shut him up.

Albus continued, "I'm not going to go to Hogsmeade with you because one: you're a piece of shit. And two: I'm taking Scorpius. You had your chance and you fucked up."

To punctuate his last line, Albus reached for his wand but Zenneth had the presence of mind to pull him out of the Great Hall and away from a furious Lorenzo and the hoard of curious and whispering students.

"Albus!" Zenneth said through gritted teeth; Albus was struggling to get back into the Hall.

Many students were now looking on in shock. No one had ever seen him lose his cool.

"Al, you really need to calm down!" Zenneth insisted, pulling him further down a corridor.

Finally Albus caught his breath, he could still feel the blood pumping in his ears, but his anger was ebbing away.

Finally he sank to the floor against the wall, "I'm sorry Zen, thanks for stopping me."

Zenneth sat on the floor beside him, "It's no problem mate. Are you alright?"

"He just made me so angry. I had to say something. And you know, I do genuinely want to ask Scorpius out."

"Al, you basically told the entire school that you and Scorpius are already together"

Albus was surprised that a small smile came to his lips.

"My only question is," continued Zenneth, "when are you going to tell Scorpius?"


	7. Chapter 7

When Scorpius reentered the school after lunch he was not expecting the stares, nor did he understand them. He could see people whispering as he walked by. But he didn't think too much of it, he was more annoyed by the calendars he kept seeing turned open to Albus' page. Of _his_ Albus winking. He was muttering to himself when he walked straight into his best friend.

"Al! Sorry, I didn't see you!"

"No, it's okay. I was looking for you actually" Albus smiled easily at his friend, "Where are you headed after your Ancient Runes class?"

"I was just going to study in our common room, why?"

"Do you want to, uh, do you want to come outside and study with me?" Albus wasn't looking at him anymore, and maybe Scorpius' eyes were betraying him, but he could swear that Albus was acting shy and embarrassed.

"Yeah, I'll come outside with you. Same tree as last time?" Scorpius tried not to look excited.

Albus looked back up; letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Scorpius had agreed. And that was one yes down, and one more to go. "Same tree, I'll see you after the period ends Scor!"

Scorpius walked down the hall with a small on his face, now oblivious to the looks he was getting.

…

Albus was already sitting by their tree (or so it had become in Scorpius' head) when Scorpius walked outside. He tried to look disinterested when he approached, like he hadn't just been struck with numerous pangs of jealousy as he strode through the grounds and spotted a fair few calendars being fawned over.

"Hey Al" he called cheerily.

Albus jumped and dropped the book he was reading "Oh! Scorpius, here, come sit."

Scorpius gave his best friend a funny look, but sat down. It was very unlike Albus to get jumpy and nervous. It was completely out of character; even when Albus had a huge Quidditch game coming up, he never got visibly nervous. He wondered if something was wrong.

"What're you studying?" Scorpius asked casually.

"I was just reading up on Potions. What did you bring?" Albus was still making an effort to avoid Scorpius' eyes.

"Al, are you okay? You look…you look nervous." Scorpius ignored his unopened bag and turned so that he was sitting facing Albus.

"I do?" Albus asked, looking up briefly. Scorpius nodded and Albus continued, "Wow, this is embarrassing. I guess I'll just have to come out and say it."

"Say what?" Scorpius said, looking concernedly at his friend.

Albus finally met his eyes and held his gaze for a few moments, "You have gorgeous eyes Scor" he said simply.

Scorpius blushed, and cursed his pale skin internally "Thanks Al" he whispered.

"But, um, uh. That wasn't really what I wanted to say. See, I...Merlin this is harder than I thought it would be," Albus took a deep breath and continued. "Okay, so at lunch today, Lorenzo came over and asked me out."

"He WHAT?" Scorpius wanted to throw up. Did Lorenzo just want to ruin his entire life? First he crushed Scorpius and now he was trying to steal away the one person Scorpius thought he had a chance with?

"He asked me to Hogsmeade this weekend." Albus repeated softly

"What did you say?!" Scorpius was starting to get very worried.

"I said no of course! Actually…actually I sort of said that I was taking you." Albus wasn't looking at him again as he fingered the spine of his book distractedly.

It was as if someone had cast _lumos_ and Scorpius finally understood. Albus liked him. Albus liked him like how he liked Albus.

Scorpius' breathing slowed down and he allowed his mouth to stretch into a slow smile.

"You don't have to come of course!" Albus had gone back to not looking at him and did not notice the grin on Scorpius' face, "I just wanted to get away from him and I didn't want him to bother you, so I said that. But you don't need to come, and I'm sorry because the whole school sort of heard me yelling at him in the Great Hall. And they heard me say you were going with me, and I guess that means that they think we're together and I'm sorry!" The words were pouring out of Albus' mouth and he couldn't stop them, "Actually, we could stage a breakup if you want! A really public one. And you could yell and throw things and…mmfh!"

Scorpius had cut him off by kissing him. He had taken Albus' head in his hands and pulled him into a chaste kiss. He couldn't bear to see Albus frazzled about something he was perfectly fine with and he just wanted to put him out of his misery. After a few moments he pulled away, searching Albus' face for some sort of reaction.

"Was…was that okay?" Scorpius murmured, looking nervous now.

"Well, I think you're going to have to do it again and then I'll be able to tell you." Albus beamed at his best friend, and without waiting for Scorpius to register what he just said, pulled him into another kiss.

This time the kiss was not so innocent. Albus relished the feeling of Scorpius' lips on his, the warmth of Scorpius' mouth and the thought that anyone could see them. He pulled Scorpius closer. Scorpius moved so that he was straddling Albus, his arms wrapped around Albus' neck and their torsos pressed together. Neither could have guessed how long they had been sitting like that, all thoughts of homework and readings vanished. They eventually came up for air and picked up where they had left off, the kiss becoming more urgent. Scorpius pushed Albus back and climbed on top of him, hardly breaking the contact with Albus' mouth. Scorpius' hands slowly pulled Albus' uniform shirt out of his trousers, and started to unbutton it absentmindedly.

At this point Albus made a small noise of protest at the back of his throat and sat up a little bit, propping himself up on his elbow. Scorpius thought maybe he pushed too far and sat on his heels, his brow wrinkling. Albus had never seen Scorpius look so hot in his life. His hair was a mess, his robes were disheveled and his lips were pink and swollen.

"Merlin, Scorpius. You're killing me." He said softly, tracing his thumb down Scorpius jawline; not taking his eyes off of the familiar face that was only inches away from his.

"We don't need to stop here" Scorpius teased; he didn't realize the implications of what he just said until Albus moved back, his face unreadable.

"Scorpius, you don't know how badly I don't want to stop. I've waited…I've wanted you for a really long time, but. But I want to do this right, okay? Let me take you to Hogsmeade this weekend? And maybe from there we can, well…not stop." Albus had turned red and Scorpius pulled him into a tight hug, burying his face in Albus' shoulder.

"You are the best best friend anyone could ever ask for Albus Potter."


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: _Hey everyone, I just wanted to apologize for taking so long to upload! It's been crazy. I hope you like these two chapters though, and I promise not to make you wait too long for the next one!_

* * *

Albus didn't have much time before his date, but there was a lot he wanted to do. Saturday was fast approaching and he wanted to make it the most memorable Saturday Scorpius had ever had. He decided that he would have to contact James for help and prayed that he wouldn't be an idiot about it. On Wednesday morning he sent off a hastily-scrawled letter.

_James, _

_I need your help. It's about this date…with someone very important to me. Is there a way you can visit or something? _

_-Al_

_PS: No boyfriends to report on the Lily front. _

…

Albus knew his brother could work fast, but it was still surprising to see James at the Head Table on Thursday morning. James had graduated and went straight to train with their father in the Auror office. He would come in now and then to give talks to younger Hogwarts students about life post-Hogwarts and what options were out there. Albus could only suspect that he arranged to have another talk.

He grinned when he caught his brother's eye.

"Oi, Al, why is James here?" Zenneth asked over breakfast, handing the change back to a first year who had just bought a calendar.

"I dunno mate, I'm going to go find out though" Albus smiled as he left the table.

James, having seen him coming, excused himself from the Head Table and met Albus in the middle of the Great Hall. He hugged Albus unabashedly and messed up his hair for good measure before throwing an arm around his brother's shoulders and steering him out of the Hall.

"What your first class Al?" he asked as they started walking down an empty corridor.

"I have Care of Magical Creatures, but I can skip that. I'm doing pretty well in it" Albus tried to sound nonchalant but James didn't buy it.

"This is serious, isn't it? That the Great Albus Potter is willing to skip class?" He gave Albus a playful shove

"And here I thought you weren't going to be a prat!" Albus was starting to regret asking James for help, but he was vital to what he had planned.

"Okay, sorry. Listen, when is your first break?"

"I've got a spare after my first period"

"Why don't we meet then? I'm doing a presentation for some fifth years first period anyway"

"Yeah, that'll work. Will you meet me out by the lake? By that big willow tree?"

James raised his eyebrows

"_Not_ the Whomping Willow…"

James grinned and watched his brother dart back into the Hall – presumably for his rucksack.

…

Albus walked through the grounds hurriedly; he had brushed off all advances made by his friends to spend the period together. Feeling a little ashamed of his feeble excuses, he was happy to see James sitting under his tree when he arrived at the Lake.

"Oi, what took you so long? Had a couple fans to brush off?" James was holding the Quidditch Calendar in his hands and smirked at Albus.

"How did you get that?" Albus said, turning red and snatching the calendar out of James' hands. He sat down and stuffed his grinning team into his bag.

"Okay, so what's the problem? Who's the girl?"

Albus shifted uncomfortably, he knew he was going to have to tell James, but now that the moment had come, he felt very shy, "Well, here's the thing. Uh, it's not a girl?"

James looked at him. Albus was waiting for him to yell, but he didn't. In fact, it seemed like James was waiting for Albus to say something else. When he didn't, James finally spoke up.

"Scorpius." It wasn't a question, more of a statement. A realization.

Albus nodded, almost imperceptibly. He forced himself to raise his head, to meet James' eyes. James was smiling. Albus felt relief wash over him and he started to laugh. He didn't know where it was coming from, probably the happiness he felt that James was accepting of it all.

"He's gorgeous!" He choked, still laughing.

James was chuckling now, seeing Albus' relief evident on his face, "I wouldn't push it that far, but if you're into pointy blonds, he's not too bad. Now, what is it you need help with?"

Albus finally managed to pull himself together, "Spells" he said breathlessly.

For the remainder of the period, James helped Albus master a few spells that were more advanced. Among them, a shield spell – not dissimilar to the one their parents had used during the war. Then a cushioning charm their father had modified which made the ground feel like pillows (he had done this so that when they wrestled when they were younger, neither of them would get hurt). James taught him a few special ones he thought might be helpful for Albus' big night, wanting to show Albus that he truly was happy for him, despite his love-interest being Malfoy.

Albus stayed outside with James practicing for the whole period. When it was over, he got James to put a charm over the area under the tree, so that it was only accessible and viewable to someone with a password. James happily obliged. He was impressed by Albus' determination to master the spells, and his willingness to come to James for help. As much as he hated to admit it, James thought that Albus and Scorpius might actually be a really cute couple.

…

It was odd getting ready for a date in the same room that your date was getting ready in. Scorpius and Albus skirted around each other late Saturday afternoon. Trying to act casual about their trip to Hogsmeade, but the tension in the air was palpable.

Albus had had Quidditch practice in the morning then disappeared after lunch for quite a long period of time. He told everyone he was going to the library, but somehow Scorpius didn't buy it. Albus Potter only spent time in the library in exam season. Scorpius didn't mind though, he had tried to concentrate on work himself, but his mind kept drifting. That night he was going to go on a date with his best friend and arguably the hottest boy at Hogwarts.

Scorpius couldn't stop thinking about what Albus said about not stopping; he wondered what Albus had planned. Scorpius pulled on a light coat and waited patiently for himto come out of the washroom. Their roommates had already left, knowing that Scorpius and Albus were finally going out; the boys had decided to give them a little privacy.

Albus stepped out of the washroom and Scorpius let his breath out in a slow hiss. Albus looked gorgeous. He had a dark green T-shirt on, over dark jeans and Scorpius had to mentally stop himself from saying something along the lines of '_You look delicious'_. Albus smiled at the look on Scorpius' face and walked towards his best friend. They hadn't been alone since they had snogged by their tree and standing in a room full of beds was only adding to their heightened libido.

Albus pulled Scorpius toward him by the lapels of this coat, "You look gorgeous" he breathed, dipping his head slightly, so that he could press his lips to Scorpius'.

Scorpius sank into the kiss easily. He made a small mental note that sappiness was not a bad thing and then everything was wiped from his mind. All he could think about was the boy in front of him. The one whose lips were leaving his…

"We can't…let's. Let's get going okay? We have all evening. We have loads of time." Albus was flushed, but smiled coyly at Scorpius before taking his hand and leading him out of their dorm.


	9. Chapter 9

Scorpius was starting to get annoyed. They had been in The Three Broomsticks for a little over twenty minutes but no less than six different people had stopped by their table; interrupting their conversation to ask for an autograph, or say hello. He could tell that Albus was not finding it amusing either, as he hastily signed a second year's calendar without so much as glancing at them.

"Sorry, what were you saying?" Albus tried to focus on Scorpius but he knew that it was hopeless. They had hardly gotten any time to talk, and Scorpius wasn't looking too happy about it either.

"Um. I was saying that Lorenzo hasn't even dared to look at me since you talked to him." Scorpius could see that Albus was deflating a little.

Their date had started off quite nicely. The sun was low in the sky, and although a cool breeze swept through the village, it was a beautiful evening. They had decided that they were going to grab a few butter beers and then spend the rest of the night walking around and visiting shops. This, however, was not going swimmingly. Albus finally had enough. He had seen a few girls whispering and pointing over at their table and he knew they were plucking up the courage to come over and talk to them.

"Scor, you want to get out of here?"

Scorpius grinned, "I thought you'd never ask!"

They made their way into the village and stopped into a couple shops before realizing that neither of them really wanted to be there. Albus could not get his mind off of Scorpius, and how they had kissed, and how they might be able to go further than that because of all his hard work earlier that day. Scorpius kept looking at him, turning red and smiling and Albus could only imagine what was going through his head. He decided that this outing needed to end. Turning resolutely away from the village, he held Scorpius' hand and started the walk back towards Hogwarts.

Neither of them spoke much, each content just to hold hands and enjoy each other's company. Scorpius was surprised when Albus didn't head into the school but turned towards to grounds instead. It was dusk now, the sun had set and the sky was a lovely shade of purple.

"Al, where are we going? I'm not hungry right now, but we aren't going to be able to get any dinner later if we stay out here"

Albus, who still had quite a firm hold of Scorpius' hand just smiled, "Trust me?"

"Of course" Scorpius said quietly, leaning in to peck Albus' cheek. He was just so damn gorgeous.

When they were standing in front of their tree, Albus stopped. He whispered something then pulled Scorpius under the sweeping branches.

Scorpius stopped dead, his mouth falling open.

Hidden by the branches of the willow tree, Albus had arranged what seemed to be an outdoor bedroom. There were blankets on the ground, a few pillows and more blankets piled up by the trunk. What looked like a picnic basket also sat by the spare blankets. They whole place was lit by flames in jars, hovering at various heights.

"Um, do you like it?" Albus murmured. He was rubbing Scorpius knuckles with him thumb now.

"This…this is where you were earlier today, wasn't it?" Scorpius couldn't begin to convey how much it meant to him that Albus had done all of this.

"Yeah, it was," Albus pulled him to the blankets, "First I thought that maybe we could go to the Room of Requirement. But I wanted this to be different. This is all just us. There isn't a room catering to our every need, this is just me. And you. And that's sort of how I wanted it to be."

Scorpius just stared at Albus. The flickering flames cast glowing shadows around them, making Albus' skin look godly and golden. Albus smiled warmly at Scorpius and he could do nothing but beam back at him. He was in complete awe of what Albus had done for him. They kicked of their shoes and settled onto the 'bed'. Scorpius was surprised to find that it actually felt like a bed, it was soft and springy, and it didn't feel the least bit like they were sitting on lumpy ground.

Albus grinned at Scorpius' expression, "It's a charm my father made up. And before you ask, I also cast an insect-repellant spell around our tree. I know how much you hate them. There's also a charm around the tree that protects us from being seen and interrupted."

Scorpius couldn't hold on any longer. He launched himself at Albus and kissed him. Albus, taken by surprised, was knocked onto his back. He didn't bother trying to get up though. Scorpius was already climbing on top of him, settling himself comfortably between Albus legs.

Albus arms came up around Scorpius neck and he deepened the kiss, probing Scorpius' mouth with his tongue, wanting to taste him, to memorize him. He never wanted to move. His pants were growing tighter by the second however. He tried to shift casually but only discovered that Scorpius was in the same predicament as himself. They broke apart for the first time and smiled shyly at each other.

"Shirts?" Scorpius panted

"Shirts." Albus repeated.

They divested of their clothes faster that either would have thought possible. Scorpius took a moment to gaze at the gorgeous body laid out in front of him. His mind flitted back to the Quidditch pitch when he was trying to photograph Albus and he grinned, knowing that Albus was his now; he could stare as long as he wanted. Their mouths found each other once again. Scorpius started kissing down Albus' jaw, and moved slowly to his neck.

"Mmgh! Scor!" Albus hadn't expected it. The sensitive skin was being teased and nibbled on. He was sure he'd have a few marks to hide the next morning but he didn't care. He couldn't tear his mind away from what was happening to him. As Scorpius' mouth trailed down his neck, Albus started massaging his lower back, slowly making his was to Scorpius' arse.

Gingerly, almost as if testing to see if it was okay, he slid his hands into the back pockets of Scorpius' jeans. Scorpius responded by giving Albus another hickey, right by his collar bone. Bolstered by the reaction, Albus risked sliding his hands back up and then down again, this time under Scorpius' jeans. Albus massaged Scorpius' arse, trying to stay conscious as Scorpius took one of his nipples into his mouth.

Scorpius' mind was on overdrive. Albus' strong hands were on his arse and he couldn't help but feel elated. He sat up, still straddling Albus, to catch his breath.

"Al," he panted, "Al, you're amazing."

Albus grinned wickedly and sat up. Scorpius didn't even have time to react before he was pushed off of Albus' thighs and was lying on his back, staring up at darkened green eyes.

"Hey," Albus said smiling still, "You're pretty amazing too"

This was the Albus that Scorpius recognized; the one that was cheeky and in control. He blushed unwillingly.

"These need to go" Albus said, tugging gently on Scorpius' jeans. Scorpius nodded mutely, trying to catch his breath. He watched Albus concentrating as he undid the clasp and zipper on Scorpius trousers and pulled them off. He put them to the side before turning his full attention to Scorpius.

"I've said this before, but you're beautiful" Albus whispered. His eyes were roaming freely over Scorpius' body and Scorpius turned even redder. Albus took in the plains of porcelain skin, the dips and subtle bulges of Scorpius' muscles and the much more pronounced bulge in Scorpius' underwear.

His hands were inching towards Scorpius' waistband before he registered what was happening. He stopped himself and locked eyes with Scorpius. Scorpius smiled what he hoped to be a reassuring smile, he was anxious about this part, but he trusted Albus entirely.

Albus smiled back and with hands he didn't realize were trembling, he gently removed Scorpius' underwear, being careful of his erection. Scorpius lifted his hips to help and then he was completely naked.

Albus sucked in his breath. He thought Scorpius looked like an angel. Every inch of him was divine and he looked absolutely perfect lying on the sheets.

"What?" Scorpius said, squirming a little, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing in the slightest" Albus replied, crawling forward on his hands to kiss Scorpius once again. He couldn't stop himself from lowering his hips and rutting lightly against Scorpius. Scorpius' breath caught in his throat. Even though Albus' jeans were rough on his penis, he welcomed the friction.

"More, Al" he gasped, pulling Albus close to him, his fingertips digging into Albus' back.

"As you wish" Albus said slyly.


	10. Chapter 10

Scorpius felt Albus kissing down the length of his body. He was going much faster than Scorpius had, but Scorpius didn't mind. He wanted Albus to get to where all his pleasure was pooling. He was nervous, of course; this was new territory for Albus and he didn't want to screw things up. But, all of his intimate memories with Lorenzo put together didn't amount to the happiness he got from his few hours so far with Albus. He knew he was safe, he knew Albus genuinely loved him and he knew that this time, it was okay to fall. Because Albus would be there to catch him.

Albus stopped kissing at Scorpius' hips and pulled back. He inched forward slightly on his knees and with no warning, boldly reached out and grasped Scorpius' penis. Scorpius hips left the ground as he sought more contact.

"Merlin…Albus…" Scorpius murmured, his eyes fluttering shut. Scorpius' mind flashed briefly to the Quidditch pitch, to when Albus was massaging that broom handle and Scorpius wished harder than ever that he would experience it for himself. He smiled and relaxed into Albus' touch.

Albus, seeing the smile of Scorpius' face felt a barrier break and started to slowly pump Scorpius with one hand while the other started work on his balls. He watched, fascinated, as the pink head of Scorpius' penis popped in and out of his fist as he moved up and down his erection. He couldn't get enough of the small noises Scorpius was making, the way he was squirming. Albus wanted nothing more than to make Scorpius feel like this was where they were supposed to be. Making his mind up in a split second, Albus lowered his head.

He was entirely at a loss of how this was supposed to work, of what he was supposed to do and of what constituted a good blow job. He just knew that he had to be better than anything Scorpius had already experienced. With that thought in mind, Albus guided Scorpius' penis into his mouth, closing his lips over the tip.

Scorpius wrenched his eyes open; he caught Albus' gaze momentarily and watched, enraptured, as his penis disappeared into Albus' mouth. It took everything he had not to buck his hips; instead he moaned the loudest he had yet. The sensations were consuming him. Albus hummed happily and the vibrations sent shivers all the way up Scorpius' spine.

"Al…Al…Albus" He gasped. He knew he was going to be at his end soon. He had tried desperately to hold on for a longer time but he just couldn't do it, "Al, I'm c..co…"

Scorpius reached down and pulled Albus off him just as he orgasmed. He clenched tightly onto Albus' arms as he came, spurts of come catching both boys in their chests. Albus almost came in his pants, the look on Scorpius' face was priceless and the fact that it was his name on the blond's lips meant the world to him. He crawled up and lay down beside Scorpius, waiting for him to catch his breath.

"You know, you didn't have to pull me off of you" Albus murmured, kissing the crook of Scorpius' neck as he pulled him close.

"I wasn't sure if you'd want to and I didn't want to…you know, pressure you" Scorpius turned to face Albus.

"There's always next time" Albus said coyly. He was beyond happy, not only did Scorpius come, he seemed to have really liked what Albus had done. He made a mental note to remind himself to ask Scorpius how he racked up compared to Lorenzo, just for research purposes of course. Right now, he was content to lay beside the gorgeous boy he could finally call his.

"Hey Al?"

"Yeah?"

"I think you're overdressed."

Albus smirked at Scorpius, "Oh yeah? What would you like me to do about it?"

"Nothing at all. _I'd_ actually like to do something about it" Scorpius didn't know where the boldness was coming from but he liked it.

Albus' grin stretched wider, "And you told _me_ I was troublesome"

Scorpius laughed and started kissing Albus. His mouth kept Albus busy was his hands snaked down, between their bodies and made their way to Albus' trouser. He undid the clasp and zipper expertly and pulled away from Albus so he could sit up and pull them, along with his boxers, off.

Albus was still lying down and willed himself not to go red as Scorpius uncovered the rest of his body.

Scorpius just stared. There were many times he had pictured Albus naked, but the real thing was so much better. He reached tentatively for Albus' penis, trailing his fingers up the shaft and back down before wrapping his hand around it.

Albus was trying not to come right away. He was already at the brink; everything that had happened so far that night was better than his wildest dreams, and now seeing Scorpius' hand closed around his penis was overwhelming. His hips left the sheets as he started thrusting slowly into Scorpius' fist, unable to stop himself.

Scorpius' mind was reeling. He could not get over how hot Albus looked, lips parted, eyelids fluttering, breath coming in short gasps. Albus didn't make any audible sounds of being pleasured; just a few pants, his eyes would screw shut and his lips would purse tightly. Scorpius ate it all up, he was about to lower his head and repay Albus the first-class treatment he had just received when he felt Albus' dick pulse in his hand. He watched captivated as Albus came, trembling and hardly making a sound, his cum spilling out of him and onto Scorpius' hand. The stark contrast of their orgasms had Scorpius smiling as he moved up to lie beside Albus.

"Scor, I'm so sorry. I can…I'm usually…I don't usually come that fast" Albus said, allowing himself to be pulled into Scorpius' arms.

"Hey, it's okay! I figured you were probably close when I got started"

"I'm better than that, you know" Albus muttered but he didn't feel embarrassed anymore. Scorpius understood. Stretching his arm out to the side, he grabbed his wand from where it was protruding from his discarded jeans, "Accio washcloths" he whispered.

Scorpius was surprised to see two blue washcloths zooming out of the picnic basket into Albus' waiting hand.

"They're warm and damp. So we can clean off. I don't trust myself with cleaning charms in that particular area." Albus said, reaching out and starting to wipe the stick residue of their evening together off of Scorpius' chest

"Albus Potter. I can't believe how much thought you put into this!"

Albus blushed slightly, but continued to rub warm circles over Scorpius' chest, "I just wanted it to be perfect"

Scorpius pulled him into a kiss and took the other washcloth from him so he could start helping as well.

When they had both cleaned up and vanished the washcloths, they began to pull their clothes on.

"So, I don't know about you, but I'm rather hungry" Albus said, watching Scorpius get into his underwear.

"Starved. That was quite exhausting" Scorpius smiled when he caught Albus looking and decided not to put anything else on.

Albus, following his lead, just slipped into his boxers before walking over to the tree trunk. He grabbed the spare blankets and the basket and motioned Scorpius to follow him.

They emerged from under the tree and silently, Albus arranged the blankets on the ground. Scorpius heard him muttering an insect-repellant spell and then he beckoned Scorpius to sit beside him. It was late into the night now and the sky was deep blue, alight with the moon and stars.

"A moonlight picnic? You want me to fall in love, hm?" Scorpius murmured, kissing the top of Albus' head before sitting down.

Albus passed him a butterbeer and pulled out a few sandwiches and some treacle tart, "That's the idea, yes."

"Well, it's working." Scorpius happily took the sandwich.

After a while, they were sated; emotionally and physically – in every possible way. Albus vanished the now-empty basket and their garbage and then pulling an extra blanket over them, he lied down beside Scorpius, putting his head in Scorpius' lap

"Want to watch the stars for a little bit?" he asked softly.

Scorpius was absentmindedly stroking Al's hair, "Yeah, but we need to head back under the tree after. I don't fancy being seen by the whole school in my underwear."

Albus grinned, "Of course, now lie down with me will you?"

"No place I'd rather be" Scorpius said, moving his body so that he and Albus were level, staring up at the sky.

…

James had returned to Hogwarts early on Sunday morning. He wanted to go to the grounds to remove the charms he had set for Albus. He had set them up on Thursday, so he figured the boys would be done with them by now. Trying to push the mental image of his brother and the Malfoy out of his head, he strolled purposefully toward the willow tree.

"Oh Merlin" he groaned as he approached it.

Albus and Scorpius were asleep right outside the barrier he had put up. They looked naked. There were blankets were obscuring his vision, but he was very thankful for that. He couldn't believe that they had been stupid enough not to get back under the tree. He had no idea how to deal with this kind of a situation; auror training had not been that extensive. He gingerly walked closer to them, wincing inwardly when the saw that two pairs of underwear had been tossed into the grass; they were naked indeed.

"Al, you bloody idiot, wake up!" He hissed while prodding Albus with the toe of his shoe.

To his surprise, it was Scorpius' eyes that fluttered open, then squinted against the morning light.

"Uh, James?" He croaked. He began to sit up, trying desperately to get his bearings. Why was he outside? Why was Albus' brother here? Why was he naked?

The answers to all those questions came back in vivid detail; the snuggling which had led to Scorpius going about finishing the job he had wanted to do earlier, Albus insisting that he pay him back and the two of them coming in near-unison under the stars. He blushed crimson, putting his hands over the blankets so that they wouldn't fall away from his body.

"Right, hi Scorpius." James felt like he should shake his hand, but he didn't really want to make it more uncomfortable than it was, "Why…why aren't you guys under the tree? You realize you wouldn't have been seen there?"

"How did you know about the tree?" was the first question Scorpius asked and he immediately felt stupid. Of all things he could inquire about…

"I helped Al set it up, now please. Can you wake him up and get some clothes on? And then get the hell back into the school before your mates find you both naked on the grounds?"

Scorpius nodded dumbly. James was a very nice person; he hadn't expected that but he'd have time to ponder it later. He shook Albus awake.

"Blimey, James!" Albus said groggily, sitting up.

"Shut it Al, and get up will you?" James was starting to panic, any minute the early risers would be up and walking about, maybe even thinking of having breakfast on the grounds.

Albus smiled and got out from under the blanket unabashedly. Scorpius, torn between wanting to see Albus naked and not wanting to be caught by James checking his brother out, decided to wrap a blanket around himself and stand up. Albus retrieved their underwear and then pulled Scorpius under the tree, shooting a half-apologetic, half-amused smile at James.

They emerged mere minutes later and James was relieved to see that they were fully dressed. Albus thanked him quickly; pulling him into a quick hug and promising to make it up to him. And Scorpius, looking everywhere but at James, also muttered a quick thanks before they took off together towards the school at a run.

James watched them leave. As annoyed as he was that they almost got caught, he was happy for Albus. His eyebrows knit together as he started to undo the spells, and he thought about the future for Albus and Scorpius. He expected that they'd have amazing stories to tell one day; of adventures, love and friendship.

Even though there was incontestable sweetness in their new love, there was no denying it: they were quite the troublesome pair.


End file.
